Incendiary bomb



Aug. 28, 1 945. s. B. HAMILTON INCENDIARY BOMB Filed Dec. 25, 1942Patented Aug. 28, 1945 UNITED STATES PA'ElJT` OFFICE IN CENDIARY BOMBSamuel B. Hamilton, Knoxville, Tenn.

Application December 23, 1942, Serial No. 469,949

6 Claims.

This -invention relates to an improvement in incendiary bombs,particularly of the type adapted to be transported by aircraft anddropped therefrom for destruction -of objects on the ground. It isespecially suitable for destroying by re aircraft carriers, hangars,grounded airplanes, manufacturing plants, forests, yand other objectswhich are readily combustible and would be ignited by such abomb.

This bomb is of the type which contains a combustible material, such asa hydrocarbon, that is adapted to be ignited for its destruction effect.Bombs have been suggested heretofore which utilize such hydrocarbons forthis purpose, but no adequate or satisfactory provision was made forobtaining quick and effective ignition of the combustible materialwithin the bomb when it reaches its objective.

The object of this invention is to improve the construction of the bombto obtain elTectiVe and instantaneous ignition of the combustiblematerial therein when the bomb exploes upon impact with its objective,and to Aspread out over a large area the combustible material foreffective action thereof without its being readily extinguishedparticularly by water. Provision is made for preheating the combustiblematerial in the bomb before explosion of the latter so as to increaseits combustibility thereby obtaining more eiective action a be lled witha combustible liquid, with means4 provided for applying a combustiblefluid aroundY the exterior of said chamber before impact of the bomb,which latter fluid is 'ignited to obtain a preheating of the main bodyof fluid in the bomb. The mechanism provided for thus supplying andigniting the preheating material is simple but Very effective to insurepositive action, and yet will add little in cost rto the bomb.

A preferred embodiment of'the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 `is a vertical sectional view through the bomb, partly inelevation;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the tail assembly for the bomb;

Fig. 7 `is a perspective view of the firing wire; Fig. 8 is a detailvertical section through the l flint assembly;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the igniting device, from the rear;

Fig. 10 is a similar view thereof from the front; and

Fig. 11 is a side elevation thereof.

The bomb shown has a shell portion designated generally by the numeral Iwhich encloses a chamber A. The shell I is preferably constructed ofthin sheet metal, inasmuch .as it is not required to sustain asubstantial pressure. Thel lower end of the shell I is connected with anose portion 2 which is welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the shellI. The nose portion 2 has a percussion cap 3 in the lower end thereof,from which percussion cap 3 an explosion chamber B extends upwardly intothe chamber A. The nose portion 2 encloses a chamber C which isseparated from the chamber A by a division plate 4.

'The upper end of the shell I has a lling opening therein normallyclose-d by a plug 5. This upper end also carries the tailassemblydesignated generally by the numeral, which is adapted to holdthe bomb in a vertical position during its descent and aiding in thedirection of the bomb at the target. The tail assembly shown has aseries of four ns I (Fig, '2), which fins are arranged at angles of toeach other, and separated by box sides 8 which are securedsubstantiallyk in square relation with an opening therethrough, as willbe evident from' Fig. 2.

Surrounding the upper portion of the nose 2'is a burner ring 9constructed in the form of an annular tube, as will be evident fromFigs. 3 and 5. This burner ring has orifices I@ in the upper sidethereof in position toi-direct jets of liquid 4against the surroundingsides of the shell I. A valveassembly II is provided in the burner ring9 at voneside thereof, which valve assemblyis shown as having arotatable valve body I 2 adapted to control communication from a'pipe I3which serves as a feeder line, into the 'burner ring 9, as is evidentfrom Fig. v5. The valve Il line.

has an operating handle I4 for operating the same., and upon rotation ofthe valve through 90, the flovvof the uid to the burner ring may becontrolled. 'I'he feeder line I3 extends downward to a point near thebottom of the chamber C, as will be evident from Fig. 1. The upper sideof the valve assembly Il 'has a jet orifice I5 adapted to receive fluidfrom a bored portion I 6 of the valve body I2, as shown in Figs. 3 and5.

The valve assembly Il is adapted to be operated by a firing wire I'I,one end of which is connected with the handle I4 while the other end..

Mounted on the nose portion 2 of the bomb inV close proximity to thevalve assembly I I, is an igniting device designated generally by thenumeral I9 in Fig. 11. This igniting device is of knownconstruction, andis secured in position for ignitng the combustible fluid discharged fromthe yburner ring 9 when the bomb is launched.. The igniting device isshown generally in Figs. 8 to 11, and comprises a wick in position toreceive combustible fluid from the jet I5 (Fig. 3i. A flint device A2|,has a spring-pressed int 22, bearing against a wheel 23 in position forigniting the wick 20 upon rotation of the wheel. wheel 23 is adapted tobe rotated by a coiled spring 24 controlled by a ratchet wheel 25 andladapted to be Wound by a thumbpiece 28. The ra'tchet wheel 26 iscontrolled by a dog 26 mounted for vertical sliding movement in theigniting device I9, by means of a link 21 connected with the firing wireI'I, as shown in Fig. '7. The guidingmovement of the dog 25 in theigniting device causes it to remain inv its elevated position whenlifted by the link 21.

vOne side of the nose portion 2 is provided with av filling openingtherethrough adapted to be closed by a plug device designated generallyby the` numeral 29. This plug device may be constructed as an air pump,as shown, for forcing air into the chamber C. or as a valve to controlthe admission of air and fluid thereto. This plug device 29 may beremoved from the opening to permit a combustible liquid to be suppliedto the chamber C to a desired height therein.

Normally the chamber C is not filled, but has a substantial quantity ofcombustile liquid therein to a point below the filling opening. Then theplug device 29 is reinserted and air under pressure is applied to thechamber C, the pressure being sufcient to discharge the combustibleliquid from the chamber when the valve unit II is opened, requiringabout five pounds pressure for ordinary sizes.

The chamber A should also be filled with a combustible liquid or othermedium, preferably gaso- If desired, this chamber A may be filled with asolution of gasoline and rosin to insure quick ignition and longburning.

The explosion chamber B should be loaded with an explosive of suchcharacter as to blow open the bomb shell when the explosive is ignited.This chamber B is filled to the junction of the chamber C through theopening for the percussion cap 3, after which this cap is reinserted.Then upon winding the spring 24, the bomb is ready for use.

When the bomb is discharged for aircraft, provision should be madeeither for automatic or manual actuation ofthe firing wire Il when theThe bomb is launched. This is the only act required to insure operationof the bomb. Upon pulling up the kwire I'I, the valve II is openedcausing the combustile liquid, such as gasoline, in the chamber C to bedischarged under pressure through the feeder line I3 into the burnerring 9, as indicated by the arrows. in Fig. 5. This liquid will bedischarged in jets through the orifices I0. At the same time, thelifting of the wire I'I will draw up the clog 26, thereby releasing theratchet Wheel 25 and` allowing rotation of the wheel 23 by the spring24, thus causing ignition of the wick 20 and lighting the fueldischarged from the jets Il] of the burner ring.

It will be obvious that the discharge of fuel from these jets will causethis fuel to spread out over the surrounding surface of the shell I, sothat it will be readily ignited by the wick 20. This fuel continues tobe discharged and to burn during the falling of the bomb, therebypreheating the combustible liquid in the chamber A to a lhightemperature before the bomb strikes its objective. The percussion cap 3will ignite the explosive chargein ithe chamber B, which will therebyburst the chamber A and scatter the heated liquid therefrom, which willbecome ignited instantly from the burner ring 9. This causes thecombustible liquid to be spread over a wide area and to be ignitedsubstantially upon Contact, so as to cause material destruction by fire.The spreading of the combustible material over a large area makes itvery diicult for the fire to be extinguished either by water or by sand,thus accomplishing effective damage tothe objective. i

I claim:

1. An incendiary bomb comprisingya shell enclosing a 'chamber thereinfor a combustible liquid, a nose portion attached to one end of theshell and enclosing a feeder chamber therein for containing fuel, aburner surrounding the firstmentioned chamber and constructed fordirecting flames substantially against the surrounding wall thereof forpreheating the combustible liquid therein, .a valve for controllingdischarge of the fuel from the feeder chamber to said burner, means foropening said valve, and means for igniting said burner.

2. An incendiary bomb comprising a.shell enclosing a chamber therein fora combustible liquid, a nose portion attached to one end of the shelland enclosing a feeder chamber therein for containing fuel, a burnersurrounding the firstmentioned chamber and constructed for directingames substantially against the surrounding closing a chamber therein fora combustible liquid, a nose portion attached to one end of the shelland enclosing a feeder chamber therein for containing fuel, a burnersurrounding the'rstmentioned chamber and constructed for directingflames substantially against the surrounding wall thereof for preheatingthe combustible liquid therein, a valve for controlling discharge of thefuel from the feeder chamber to said burner, means for opening saidvalve, means for supplying fuel under pressure to said feeder chamber,

an igniting device secured to one of said chambers adjacent the burnerin position for igniting the same upon opening of the Valve, saidigniting device having a int assembly and wick adjacent the burner withmeans for lighting the wick, control means for said igniting deviceconnected with the valve opening means, and an eX- plosive chamber inthe first-mentioned chamber and having a percussion cap connectedtherewith for discharging the explosive upon impact of said cap.

4. An incendiarybomb comprising a container for a combustible fluid, aburner having a plurality of outlets surrounding said container arrangedfor directing flame therefrom to the peripheral walls of the containerfor preheating the combustible fluid therein, a feeder chambercontaining fuel for said burner, means for supplying fuel under pressureto said burner, means carried by said bomb for igniting the fuelsupplied .to said burner, and means for discharging the combustibleiiuid from the container after preheating thereof.

5. An incendiary bomb comprising a container, a division plate in saidcontainer dividing said container into compartments, a combustible fluidin one compartment, a fuel in the other compartment, a burnersurrounding the fuel compartment, means to supply fuel under pressurefrom the fuel compartment' to the burner, means carried by the bomb forigniting said burner and preheating the combustible fluid, and means fordischarging the combustible iiuid after preheating thereof.

6. An incendiary bomb comprising a container having a tail portion anda, nose portion, a division plate in said container dividing saidcontainer into separate compartments one larger than the other with thesmall compartment leading, a combustible fluid in the largercompartment, a fuel in the smaller compartment, a burner ring havingoutlets surrounding the fuel compartment, means in said fuel compartmentfor supplying fuel under pressure to said burner ring, ignition meansadjacent said burner ring for igniting the fuel therein and preheatingthe combustible iiuid in the larger compartment, and guiding means forthe tail portion of said bomb including a plurality of vanes arrangedsubstantially at right angles to each other, andbox sides extending`between the vanes and connecting them, together, said 'nose portion ofthe bomb having means for discharging the combustible material afterpreheating thereof.

SAMUEL B. HAMILTON.

